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AUSTIN – More than 125 Texas retailers are accused of price-gouging for charging customers nearly $4 or more for a gallon of unleaded gas or diesel after Hurricane Harvey knocked out refinery capacity along the Gulf Coast in late August.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Monday that he gave the retailers the option of resolving the matter through his office or facing prosecution under the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

“At the outset of Harvey, I made it clear that my office would not tolerate price gouging of vulnerable Texans by any individuals or businesses looking to profit from the hurricane,” Paxton said in a news release.

Paxton’s office was asked to release the list of all 127 outlets that were accused of price-gouging in complaints by consumers, but the office did not immediately make the names of the businesses available.

Under the provisions of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the Texas attorney general is empowered to file lawsuits against businesses suspected of price gouging and to seek refunds on behalf of consumers who had been targeted. Businesses could also be fined up to $20,000 per violation.

In September, Paxton’s office filed price-gouging lawsuits against the Best Western Tropic Inn motel in Robstown, a Dallas-Fort Worth area gasoline station and a station in Laredo. All were accused of taking advantage of customers affected by the hurricane.

State law “prohibits vendors from charging exorbitant prices for necessities such as drinking water, food, clothing, and fuel during a declared disaster,” according to Paxton’s office.

After the complaint was lodged against the motel, Best Western dropped its affiliation with the business.

In the days following Harvey’s landfall along the Coastal Bend as a Category 4 storm and later as catastrophic flooding event in the Houston area, refineries along the Gulf Coast were knocked offline as electric power was interrupted.

About one week after landfall, reports of gasoline outages in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio sparked panic-buying, which further strained demand at a time when supplies were difficult to replenish. And with the shortages came spikes in prices at the pump.

During that time, about 5,500 price-gouging complaints were filed with the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s office.